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Financial institutions are becoming increasingly finicky about General Durable Power of Attorney (GDPOA) documents. The GDPOA documents that we write at Roberson Law are 11 pages long in order to cover all of the bases, yet there are instances when we are still asked to provide additional substantiation to a bank that a GDPOA is valid.

Ohio Trust Law changed significantly effective January 1, 2007, when the Ohio Trust Code went into effect. Since that date, on numerous occasions, we have reminded our clients via snail mail, email, or in-person of this important date and suggested that serious consideration be made to update any trust that was dated before the Ohio Trust Code went into effect.

Clients frequently ask, "How can I avoid probate?" While some of the steps involve preparation of documents that only an attorney should prepare, there are some things that you can do yourself to avoid probate without an attorney's involvement. Following are a few suggestions:

Ken Jarosik from the Dayton Better Business Bureau (BBB) produced a video highlighting some of the features that separate Roberson Law from other businesses, including the factors that have contributed to the firm earning an A+ rating with the BBB. Nancy's interview was broadcast in a video that was shared with the Miami Valley on August 21, 2017.

We see a lot of families in our office who cannot assist their loved one who has Alzheimer's Disease or dementia with financial and health care matters because no one has the legal authority to act on behalf of the loved one. Often by the time the caregiver calls us, it is too late for us to help the loved one. This is because the mental capacity and cognition level of the loved one with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia have deteriorated too much for him or her to be able to sign any legal documents.

Ohio House Bill 432 recently went into effect and made some changes to Ohio's laws that are worth noting. Below are just a few highlights of this bill:

1. Ohio law previously allowed a surviving spouse to receive two automobiles valued at $40,000 or less without taking the vehicles through probate. Under the new law, a surviving spouse may now claim an unlimited number of vehicles having a total combined value of no more than $65,000.

For the second time in seven years, our firm was chosen as a finalist for the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Eclipse Integrity Award.

This award is one of the most difficult for a business to receive because of the rigorous process that a business has to go through after being nominated for the award. We estimate that about 40 hours of work went into submitting all of the evidence and substantiation to the BBB to prove that we operate with integrity and abide by strict ethical standards.

Alzheimer’s disease is relentless. So are we. Join our team or sponsor one of our team members for the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's®, the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Together we can help those affected by dementia and Alzheimer's Disease and move closer to a world without these two devastating illnesses.